1. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to a waste receiving device for incontinent persons. More particularly, this invention pertains to a waste receiving device that receives waste as it is produced by an incontinent person being bathed in flowing water and passes all of the waste received that is capable of flowing through an associated drain.
2. Description of the Related Art
Elder care facilities often provide hygienic care for its residents. Daily bathing in warm flowing water is both a hygienic and relaxing activity. It is not uncommon for persons to be wheeled into a bathing area while the person is seated on a bath chair. The bath chair is typically a wheeled chair that allows water to flow through it so as to prevent accumulation or collection of bath water on the chair. The bath chair also commonly includes a seat portion that has an opening, such as is found on a toilet seat. The person seated on the bath chair is wheeled adjacent a shower or other source of bathing water where the person is bathed.
Incontinent accidents commonly occur when persons are bathed in warm flowing water because of the relaxation of the body. Because the bathing areas are shared by multiple persons, it is not unusual for one person to come into contact with the waste of another person. Also, because the bath chair has wheels and is used to transport the person, the wheels often pass through the bodily waste and track that waste on the floor as the person is transported from the bathing area.
Clostridium difficile (C. Difficile) is a deadly bacteria. It is the most serious cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) and can lead to pseudomembranous colitis, a severe infection of the colon. The C. difficile bacteria naturally reside in the body at non-toxic levels, normally. Transmission of C. difficile from one person to another often follows the vector from fecal matter to oral ingestion, such as can occur when fecal matter contaminates an object that is then touched by someone. The person has contaminated hands, which handles food and/or medicine, which causes the contamination to be ingested, thereby infecting the person. The infected person may experience overgrowth of C. difficile. The overgrowth is harmful because the bacterium releases toxins that potentially causes bloating, constipation, and diarrhea with abdominal pain, which may become severe. In elderly persons or those with frail immune systems, overgrowth of C. difficile often has severe, and sometimes deadly, consequences.
Elder care providers do not have an adequate way to maintain contaminant-free surroundings when such incontinent accidents occur. Such accidents often occur in common bath areas where other persons may come into contact with the fecal waste. If such accidents occur in private areas, but the person is transported on a wheeled device, the wheels are a common transport mechanism for the C. difficile. A common waste pan positioned to capture waste is not useful because the flowing water will cause the pan to overflow during the bathing process.
Another example of a device that does not dispose of the waste as it is captured is a water caddy configured to fit under the seat of a person in a shower apparatus. U.S. Pat. No. 7,309,072, issued on Dec. 18, 2007, to David B. Storm discloses a fluid container for capturing, containing, transporting, and emptying a fluid. The water caddy is configured to transport the waste to another location where it can be disposed, such as in a toilet, which has a drain sized to accommodate fecal matter.